WARNING! Contains mild peril

In 2010, 11 months before the 3100 mile run across the USA was due to start, I broke my ankle wile riding my bike coast to coast. It was a setback but, as you will know, it all worked out in the end. 

Why am I mentioning this? Well, on a routine visit to the dentist for a polish and scale back in February, I had a routine X-ray taken. This revealed that one of my wisdom teeth was growing towards the adjacent tooth. Unfortunately, this was causing some decay in that tooth and action needed to be taken. 

The dentist recommended that the wisdom tooth should be taken out at the earliest opportunity. That turned out to be May 2025! Thankfully, they were able to fit me in, last Thursday. I had the wisdom tooth removed and a temporary filling placed in the decaying tooth. It remains touch and go, as to whether it’s worth putting in a permanent filling or just removing the tooth altogether. I hope to make a decision and have a timeline for that next week. Thankfully, the dentist is aware of the up and coming run. 

Bearing in mind that I’ve never had a filling before and only had 1 tooth removed when I was about 12 years old, this is quite daunting. And that’s even without the prospect of running 3200 miles in a foreign country! 

Thankfully, I do love a bit of jeopardy or “mild peril” as I often refer to it as. I was reminded of the newspaper headline below with a photo of me in a hospital bed just hours after having pins inserted into my ankle.

Own a piece of history

To help pay for my new kit, I’ve decided to put up for sale some of the running shirts that were used on previous trans continental runs. I’m making available for sale the Adidas running shirts that I wore while running across Australia in 2013 and then across Europe in 2016. They are complete with all the sponsors logos on the front, back and sleeves. 

Sizes range from small to large. Proceeds from the sale of these will go towards kit costs for the 2025 run across the USA. 

Shirts are £55 each for postage to the UK. 

Please get in touch for the overseas postage cost which will vary depending on your location. 

The shirts available are: 

• Australia 2013 - white or yellow 
• Europe 2016 - White or blue 

 Please send me a message or email sponsorship@rungeordierun.com if you’d like one.

Our man in NYC

I had a good conversation with Geordie exile Steve, our man in NYC, last week. He is going above and beyond the call of duty to make sure things go smoothly at the start of the run across the USA. Steve will be on hand to take us to pick the motorhome up in upstate New York. He’s also going to be driving me to the start line at Coney Island (pictured below) and joining me later as we run together through Manhattan. 

The plan for those early stages of the run are coming together very nicely. I’ve said this many times, but it’s always a huge relief to have local help. 

Thank you to Steve for the contribution he is making.

Scouting report from Nevada and California

I received a very detailed scouting report from Phil, the Geordie exile from California, who will be joining the support team from day 83. To say that it is detailed is an understatement. There were even some brochures and maps from the few The report detailed potential overnight stopping places, the best places to restock supplies, refuel and dump waste and, very importantly, recommendations with regard to running in Death Valley. A large gap in my plan was around potential places to stay after Death Valley. I’m pleased to report that Phil has been very thorough in this area. 

A huge thank you to Phil for driving the route in Nevada and California and documenting his findings.

50 mile training run

Last weekend saw me tackle a 50 mile route from Bedlington to Otterburn then back to Morpeth over 2 days. It was in lieu of a run from Edinburgh that I’d planned for some time. I just couldn’t find the time to do that one. Conditions for the run weren’t great. Not even the peace and tranquility of the Northumberland hills could lift my spirits. The cold and wet weather made this as much a tough mental task as a physical one. “I can’t wait for the heat of Death Valley” was a sentence I said to myself on a few occasions. 

At the 19 mile point on day one I was very pleased to see Thomas from the support team waiting by the roadside. His wife, Caroline, had dropped him off and we ran the final 9 miles together. By the look of the elevation profile, you’d think that I’d ran up a mountain! After 28 miles, I was pleased to reach Otterburn where a hearty supper was there waiting for me.

The journey back to Morpeth the following day was every bit as tough as the first day. I was again accompanied by Thomas and we both agreed on a plan before we set off. We set off steadily up to Elsdon then slowly up the climb to Winter’s Gibbet. The straight five mile stretch from that point was where we tried to get into a good rhythm with both of us taking turns to lead from the front. It was an excellent effort.

Each one of the next 8 miles proved to be tough and I could feel my energy levels fading fast. Thankfully, the Dyke Neuk Inn was on the route (17 miles in) and after a bowl of soup and a full Sunday roast, we were on our way again. 

The final miles to Morpeth were very straightforward. I was pleased to hit the 50 mile point and get home to a nice warm house! Thank you to Thomas for some excellent running company and Caroline for some really nice food (including a slice of her birthday cake!).

Thanks to The BIG Optician

A huge thank you goes to The BIG Optician who are based in Ouseburn, Newcastle for offering to supply me with some sunglasses for the USA 2025 run. They are yet another family owned business that has supported me over the years. 

The support from the BIG Optician goes as far back as 2013 and the run across Australia. That particular pair of black and white sunglasses were also used during the run across Europe. The next pair were used from Belgrade to Kiev. All in all, that’s 6000 miles in total. 

Thanks again to The BIG Optician for their continued kind support.

US Visa granted

As well as bringing back 3 points to the north east, it was a successful trip to London on Monday. I had an interview at the US embassy for my Visa. 

A non immigration visa is necessary to enable me to stay in the country for more than 90 days. I’m pleased to report that it was a very slick process and the visa was granted. That’s one less hurdle. Now onto the next one.

Support team news

I received the following update from John on the support team today. “The hard training work continues, my tutor, mentor, life guru and wife gave me a C minus for this effort, she said it would have been a B but I concentrated so hard on the eggs that I burnt the toast. My heart rate though on the final miles was an encouraging 120 bpm”. 

This, of course, is related to the fact that one of my staple foods during a long tour is an omelette (or scrambled eggs if they don’t turn out too well). Some of those guys on the support team have been practising. 

As I’ve said many times before, I don’t have very high expectations with food on the tour. Mind you, if there is toast to accompany that while I’m running in the USA, then I will see that as an absolute treat.  

Thanks to John for his efforts in perfecting his omelette/scrambled egg making skills. In all seriousness, it’s amazing to think that there are people out there going to such lengths to support and feed me in a few month’s time.

While on the subject of the support team, I received an update from Geordie exile Phil in California today. Next Sunday he’s planning to drive the final 2 weeks of my route (in reverse) from Huntington Beach to Death Valley then onto Shoshone. This is very much a scouting mission. Phil will be checking out places to stay overnight on highway 395. It’s very sparse there and options are limited in the desert. 

Also on his list is to find places that sell water and ice. We’ll be passing through that region during the height of summer and to have some pre thought out options will be very useful. The campsite options at Shoshone and Olancha which sit either side of Death Valley will be scouted. 

Finally, Phil will be looking to attract the support of the hotel at Furnace Creek where he is booked to stay next Sunday. I don’t have a budget for such accommodation during the run. Having a room there will be hugely beneficial but it relies on the kinds of the hotel. That’s Plan B. Plan A is to stay in the motorhome overnight in Shoshone or Olancha as we progress through Death Valley. 

We are unable to take the motorhome into Death Valley. Plan A, therefore, involves a lot of driving to and fro between the various points. Also, having a relatively nearby air conditioned refuge would be very welcome from a safety point of view.

The image below is some of the route that Phil will be driving next Sunday. It’s a picture that I took in 2019 while on holiday. I’ll be running up and over the mountain in the distance and into the valley you see in the picture on day 93 this year. That’s August 1st. It’s a 31 mile day from Stovepipe Wells to Panamint Springs (just out of sight at the end of the Panamint Valley). Day 94 is a 45 mile route from Panamint Springs to Olancha. That will involve running up that huge mountain to where I took the photo from (Father Crowley Point) and then onto the 5200ft summit before the final long push to Olancha. 

Thanks to Phil for his scouting efforts and the expense that incurs.